Garden Elementary School Advisory Council Minutes

December 18, 2007

Present: John McQueen - Principal

Gabrielle O’Berry – SAC Chairperson

Lauren Hunt - Data Coach

Theresa Butler, Aggie Harrison - Teachers

Lisa Saul – Classified (absent)

Gary Gray, Denise Mattmuller (absent), Dot Moore – Community Members

Maria Clapp, Terry Sochacki, Victoria Stultz, John Via - Parents

1) Welcome: Mrs. O’Berry welcomed everyone to the meeting. She thanked Maria Clapp, Lauren Hunt, Terri Sochacki, and John Via for attending the SAC new members training and presented them with their PALS certificates.

2) Budget: Gabrielle O’Berry reported on budget items. Monies spent included: Joanna Davis’ annual Florida Education Association conference fees of $163.98 and the SIP stipend of $180.57. The balance for the

December 18, 2007 meeting was $6, 863.83.

3) Request for Funds: Jeanne Troiano and Diana Mitchell, fifth grade teachers, submitted a request for $300. The money would be used to purchase incentives (pencils, stickers, etc…) for students with consistent attendance at the Morning SME Academic Improvement Lab. Teacher volunteers, Troiano and Mitchell, will track the Gator Gladiators’ attendance and academic progress. SAC members gladly approved the request and wanted to thank Jeanne and Diana for their dedication to this program.

JoAnn Tomer Home/School Liaison, submitted a request to be reimbursed for the registration fee of $110 for the November Florida Counseling Association’s conference. SAC approved this request.

4) FCAT Incentives: SAC has budgeted $1,500 to spend on incentives for students taking the FCAT and Stanford tests. Lauren Hunt will provide SAC with the exact testing dates. SAC concluded it would look into the price of pencils and erasers. Snacks and drinks would also be provided. A suggestion concerning certificates was discussed. Receiving scores in a timely matter could be an obstacle to this idea.

5) YMCA Reads Partnership Update: Lauren Hunt reported that the remedial reading program known as SIPP (Systematic Instruction in Phonics and Phonemic awareness) is proving to be very successful, especially under the direction and leadership of YMCA employee, Ms. White. At this time, there are 45 first through third graders participating in the program. The children’s progress is being assessed three times a year as the program runs from September through May. Students attend one hour sessions at least two times a week. The program is being funded with grant money.

6) Marquee Update: The scrolling marquee is up but not operational at this time. Mr. McQueen is working with the facilities department to complete the project.

7) Math Facts Discussion: Aggie Harrison explained that there is a positive correlation between knowing your math facts and passing the FCAT. SAC is willing to fund the Math Facts Timed Test competitions that will be held in April for grades 1 – 5. Team leaders will be asked to discuss the types of incentives they would like to see put in place. Some of the suggestions included rulers, “Race Your Principal,” and mental math challenges on KNN.

8) TeacherWeb Sites: SAC would like to see teacher web sites kept current, especially since SAC is paying for each teacher’s site. Discussion included how to help teachers keep up with this important communication tool. Susan VanAlstine, ITC, would be consulted.

9) SIP Update: Mr. McQueen reported that Garden’s SIP had been accepted. The staff is moving the SIP forward by attending technology, writing, Kagan, math, and differentiated instruction inservices.

10) Other:

•Mr. McQueen asked for a parent to volunteer to serve on the NGL forum adHoc committee. This parent would work to identify common goals throughout the county’s schools and make recommendations to improve the school district.

•A big thank you goes to Rhonda and Gary Gray. They conducted a wonderful holiday concert during the PTO meeting on December 12.

•Our thoughts go out to SAC member, Lisa Saul. Feel better soon as you are greatly missed.

•Lauren Hunt and Susan VanAlstine have created an SME progress monitoring tool for math. Students will take the grade level test two times this school year. Teachers will use the information to help identify students in need of math remediation.

•Mr. McQueen wanted to prepare SAC members for the uncertainty of the possible repercussions (grade level splits) of the Class Size Amendment for the 2008 – 2009 school year. He also explained that parent requests for specific teachers would no longer be available. Our population is expected to decline.

The meeting adjourned at 4:20 PM.

The next SAC meeting will be on

Tuesday, January 22 @ 3:30 PM.

We will meet in the Media Center.

(Babysitting will be provided.)